Drive Away Cats With A Lavender Cinnamon And Rosemary Spray
Like garlic, lavender and rosemary are strong-scented ingredients that please us but upset cats more delicate noses. Make a dynamite cat repellent from these items that smells great and keeps even the most determined cats away from your garden. This recipe wont damage your plants or property, and it will take care of your pest problem.
- Spray bottle
Bring the water to a boil, add the rosemary, cinnamon, and lavender, and reduce the heat. Simmer the solution for about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the mixture, and leave it overnight.
The next day, strain the water through the cheesecloth to remove any significant bits of debris. Add the orange essential oil and vinegar, and fill the spray bottle.
If youre not interested in using a spray all the time, grow some repellent plants like lavender and rosemary to keep cats out of the yard.
Use Coffee Grounds To Keep Cats At Bay
The next time you brew a pot of coffee, dont discard the used grounds. Coffee has strong natural scents that only get stronger after being ground up and exposed to hot water. Take advantage of this and recycle your coffee grounds by using them as an effective DIY cat deterrent.
After you finish your morning coffee, take the wet grounds outside, and sprinkle them around your property borders. Cats cant stand the smell of coffee grounds, and they will stay away.
Even better? The grounds are biodegradable and decompose on their own. Its a fantastic earth-friendly way to keep cats off the lawn.
What Is An Essential Oil
An essential oil is a natural compound that are extracted from a single plant species and have the odor of the plant from which they have been obtained. Not all plants produce essential oils, but in those that do, the oil can be extracted from various sections of the plant including the stem, roots, leaves and flowers or fruits. While the oils that are extracted arent particularly strong, they are then distilled to make them more potent. It is for this reason that only a few drops of essential oil are needed at a time.
While essential oils are extracted for use by humans, they are also used therapeutically by the plants themselves since they help with wound healing, attracting or repelling birds and insects, hormonal effects and even infection control.
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How Do You Know If Your Cat Has Been Poisoned By An Essential Oil
If you know you are using chemicals at home that could potentially harm your cats, it is very crucial to know the signs that may indicate poisoning. Immediate attention is key to survival and recovery when dealing with poisons.
Some of the signs and symptoms that may occur in cats after being poisoned include:
- Vomiting
- Muscle tremors
What Benefit Does Peppermint Provide For Cats
Recent research has determined that certain herbs can actually do more harm than good in cats, especially when used in the form of essential oils. Essential oils are incredibly concentrated extracts that can pose a problem for humans and animals alike when they come into contact with skin.
However, if used correctly, there may be some benefits that peppermint, in particular, can provide for cats. Peppermint actually belongs to the catnip family, and many cats enjoy sniffing, chewing, and rolling around in it. It can also have a very mild stress relief effect on your cat when used in moderation.
A very mild solution of peppermint can help to remove strong odors that could be associated with your cat, and might also help to make the introduction of a new pet into the home go a lot more smoothly.
Dabbing the animals you intend to introduce with a small amount of peppermint could have a calming effect. Peppermint has a very potent scent that can sometimes irritate the delicate mucous membranes of your cats eyes and nose. This is why it is incredibly important to use only the very mildest of solutions on or around your feline. Your cat has a better sense of smell than you do, so if you find the scent of peppermint hard to pick up on, rest assured that your cat can smell it just fine.
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Essential Oils And Their Uses
Essential oils are highly concentrated plant extracts that are usually made through distillation. Theyre primarily used for aromatherapy, but some people use them for medicinal purposes.
Worldwide, essential oils have become increasingly popular natural remedies in recent years. In 2018, the global essential oils market size was valued at $7.03 billion, according to Fortune Business Insights. Its projected to reach $14.6 billion by the end of 2026.
Peppermint oil is one of the most popular essential oils. Aside from smelling minty-fresh, its claimed to boost energy, reduce muscle pain, and soothe digestive upset for humans. If youre wondering whether peppermint oil can help your dog in the same ways, youre not alone. However, peppermint oil is toxic to dogs, so we recommend steering clear.
Using Essential Oils Topically
If you intend to put the oil on your pet as a topical application instead of diffusing, youll need whats called a carrier oil. A carrier oil dilutes the essential oil and protects your pets skin from possible skin irritation.
You can use olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, or jojoba oil for dilution. How much to dilute depends on the age and size of your pet. Its better to dilute heavily and gauge for a reaction.
Malissa says, Its just like us when we try a new product. Give the body time to adjust.
She also says you can create a blend of essential oils for a particular animal. For example, you can create a blend of a flea/tick repellant by blending geranium oil, rosemary, lemongrass, and bergamot together with a carrier oil. Apply it to the back of your dogs neck where they cant reach to lick it because you never want to let your animals ingest essential oils.
Now that you know not to run your diffuser all day and keep it away from your pets favorite spots, lets look at some of the essential oils that can be toxic and which ones are safer.
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Essential Oils And Animals: Which Essential Oils Are Toxic To Pets
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Essential oils are huge right now for people and for pets. But did you know that some are dangerous to animals? Thats right: Your favorite holistic remedies might be toxic for your dog or cat.
Weve put together this guide on essential oils and animals so you can keep your four-legged friends happy and healthy! Lets take a closer look at which essential oils are safe for pets and which are toxic.
Why Is Peppermint And Peppermint Oil Bad For Your Cat
Ingesting or inhaling the plant and its essential oils can pose some serious health risks for your kitty. When inhaled the peppermint oil fumes can cause:
- Aspiration pneumonia
- Irritation of the nasal passages
- Eye irritation
As you can see, these health complications are indeed serious. Taking them lightly isnt something youd want to do just for the sake of the alleged benefits of peppermint oil.
This essential oil can easily irritate the mucus of your pets nasal passages, as well as its skin. As such, you should never try applying peppermint oil on your cats fur. While its a great addition to hair masks for humans, you mustnt use it for maintaining your cats skin and fur smooth and silky.
On top of that some reports claim that peppermint oil can cause even further health issues in cats. Liver damage and central nervous system damage are just some of the problems. Even though each kitty is unique on its own, not even one of these risks is worth the potential harm to your pet. If you think your cat needs to benefit from peppermint and its essential oil, talk to your vet. The doc will prescribe a safer and more beneficial substitute depending on the furballs needs.
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The Risks Of Essential Oils
Its not difficult to mistake natural for safe. however, the fact of the matter is somewhat different. Essential oils are intense substances that can present genuine dangers when utilized inappropriately.
If youve at any point utilized essential oils yourself, you know the amount of a distinction a couple of drops can make.
Applying oils topically can be bothering to the skin yours and your dogs. This is counterproductive for treating skin conditions and can add to your canines inconvenience.
In this way, without legitimate proficient direction, its ideal to try not to utilize essential oils topically or straightforwardly on your canine. All things being equal, look for expertly formulated products that incorporate dog-safe essential oils.
The chemicals in essential oils are quickly ingested into the system, regardless of whether got orally or through the skin, and utilized by the liver. Along these lines, utilizing essential oils could be tricky for little dogs and young canines, pets with liver sickness, or old canines.
In the event that your puppy can arrive at the essential oil you put on him and licks it off, it could bring about gastrointestinal bombshell. Never leave essential oils or jugs in where your canine can get them.
If your canine ingests essential oils, contact your veterinarian and toxic substance control right away.
How Essential Oils Are Used In The Household
If you are not up on essential oils, which are all the rage for use in everything from food preparation to beauty products to cleaning supplies to homeopathic medicines, they are naturally occurring, volatile aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. They are, in short, what make a rose smell like a rose.
Essential oils properties are not just for our enjoyment, but they are thought to play an important role in the life of the flowers that produce them. Essential oils can attract bees and other insects that aid in pollination. In addition, they can repel other insects that may prove dangerous to the plants. Essential oils may also protect plants from funguses and other microbes.
When we say volatile aromatic compound, what we are referring to are organic molecules that quickly change from a concentrated liquid to a gas at room temperature. These potent gases travel rapidly through the air, interacting with our olfactory sensors and stimulating the brains limbic system. This quick transition from liquid to gas also allows essential oils to be absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream. While there are oils that can be ingested, this application is said to be the least effective and can pose risksthis method is not generally recommended.
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Why Is Peppermint Oil Good For Cats
Usually, you may find peppermint oil refreshing and useful for a heavy head, muscle pains, and skin irritation for yourself, but what about cats? Does it benefit your cat?
Well, many cat owners believe it can help your cat to bring peace as it is pleasant and calming in nature if peppermint oil concentration is extremely small.
But, it is recommended that you use catnip as a substitute over peppermint oil because it is very rare that peppermint oil wont harm her and help her to calm down.
Essential Oils Can Be Toxic To Pets
Home»Events» Essential Oils Can Be Toxic to Pets
Use of natural products and essential oils has remained popular. While you may find that using essential oils, like lavender or eucalyptus, for aromatherapy helps you relax, its important to keep in mind that these oils can also pose safety risks to pets and other people. Petsespecially cats and birdsmetabolize things quite differently than humans and there have been reports of many essential oils being toxic to our furry and feathered friends. Since these products are natural, they should be safe for people and pets, right? Unfortunately, natural does not always equal safe.
Essential oils are the concentrated liquids of plants. They are popular in aromatherapy, alternative medicine, as additives in cleaning products and personal care products, as well as home air fresheners. Many people use essential oil diffusers to improve their health. Lavender is said to help with relaxation and sleep, while eucalyptus and peppermint oils help to clear a stuffy nose when you have a cold.
Pets can experience chemical burns with the direct contact of essential oils onto the skin. If pets lick up spills of these oils, they can experience chemical burns and other toxic effects. Cats are especially sensitive to many essential oils and even just a couple of licks can be harmful.
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Pet Safe Essential Oils For A Diffuser According To Experts
Maybe you like diffusing a little peppermint essential oil in the morning to perk you up. Then, you add lavender oil in the evening to relax before bed. However, youre like many pet parents you might feel confused about essential oils when it comes to your pets. What are some pet-safe essential oils for a diffuser?
Is it safe to diffuse pure essential oils around your pets? Can you use them to help your pets feel calm when theyre anxious?
As you probably know, pure essential oils are much more than air fresheners. They have health benefits and medicinal qualities for both people and pets. Yet, our pets are far more sensitive to smells than humans. Certain essential oils like clove and pennyroyal can be dangerous to your pets.
Youve probably also heard warnings like, dont use essential oils directly on your pets skin, dont let your dog or cat ingest them, and dont diffuse citrus oils around cats.
The warnings can be enough to scare you off of essential oil diffusers and aromatherapy completely.
Yet, essential oils do have health benefits, including calming anxious animals. To get at the nitty-gritty of using these powerful oils around your pets, weve talked to both a veterinarian and a pet groomer/consultant and educator for their input.
Dr. Jeffrey Levy, aka Dr. Jeff, a house call veterinarian and musician in New York City, is a holistic veterinarian. Malissa Conti-Diene is a pet consultant, educator, and groomer at The Oily Groomer.
What Are The Most Dangerous Essential Oils
There are quite a number of essential oils that are known to be toxic and, therefore, could potentially poison a cat.
These include:
- Basil oil
- Citrus oil
Tea tree oil, in particular, can be very harmful to your cat. These oils are used for a variety of reasons. They are used in personal care products, herbal remedies, insecticides, as a potpourri , and in distillers.
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Why Essential Oils Are Bad For Your Cat
Thinking of breaking out your essential oil diffuser? Who wouldnt want to relax to the sounds of Tibetan bells and cascading water while the scent of eucalyptus fills the air? However, what you might not realize is that many essential oils are toxic to cats. Please take pause for the collective sighs of health-obsessed cat lovers everywhere. Thats right. While you are entering that much-needed meditative state, kitty is inhaling scents he would normally steer clear of.
Essential Oil Use Tips For Felines
- Despite their pleasant smell, you should handle essential oils the same way you would manage other potentially hazardous liquids. Yes, even the ones certified safe for pets. They should be kept in a cool, dark area away from your pets’ reach and the usage instructions followed.
- Keep your pets away from areas of the home cleaned or dabbed with essential oil. Be it safe for it or not, as your pet will ingest the oil in a bid to lick it off its fur.
- Avoid rubbing essential oils on areas that can quickly get into your pets mouth, e.g., feet, hands, and parts of the fur that it can easily reach.
- Opt for only essential oils known to be safe for felines
- Use only pet-safe doses for your cat. Do not use human doses, no matter how safe it may seem.
- If using a diffuser, do not allow to run for too long, non-stop, or overnight.
- Unless otherwise stated in packaging, never use an essential oil on your pet without diluting.
- Only use essential oil in a well-ventilated room, ensuring that there is a spare room for your pet if need be.
- When using any essential oil for the first time, please test a small amount of it first. You want to check for and pick out possible adverse reactions and stop use altogether if intolerable to your pet.
- If you must use essential oils in areas of your pets body that are easily accessible to the mouth, make sure you keep that part covered after applying.
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Does Peppermint Make A Good Cat Repellent Plant
As a cat repellent plant I would give peppermint a 6.5 out of 10. While its reported that most cats dont like the smell, it seems some do. Also, is not liking the smell of something very likely to act as a deterrent? I would say its doubtful.
I dont like the smell of a curry but I dont cross the road to avoid walking past an Indian restaurant.
On the plus side a peppermint plant wont attract cats so theres nothing to stop you adding it to your herb garden.